After reading the excellent autobiography of the outspoken, anti-Islamic Dutch parliamentarian Ayaan Hirsi Ali (see An Exceptional Infidel), it was only natural that I would be interested in her outspoken anti-Islamic Dutch parliamentarian ideological soul-mate and successor: Geert Wilders.

These details might help you to surmise correctly that Marked For Death is more about Islam and the West than it is about Mr. Wilders personally. Wow! It just hit me that the title does have a double meaning, because Islam has most definitely marked the West for death, as well as Mr. Wilders. Fascinating!

But I didn't make a mistake in calling this an autobiography, because the story of his persecution and prosecution is scattered throughout the book. That being said, I would say that about one-third of the book is his story, and the other two-thirds is about the totalitarian ideology of Islam and its war against the West.

You might be assuming that Marked For Death is just one more book about Islam and the Islamic agenda, like a number of the other books on my recommended reading page. While this may be true, in a sense, it is also true that this is a very well written and informative book. It would be a great place to start for an overview of Islam in general as well as of the worldwide Islamic threat. I would put it at the top of my "Overview of Islam" section, with the other books in that section being recommended if you want to dig deeper.

It's hard to summarize a book like this, and I think the text on the dust jacket does a good job without much hype, so I'll just let those words do the talking:

Fanatics, terrorists, and appeasers have tried everything to silence Geert Wilders, Europe's most controversial Member of Parliament — from putting him on trial to putting a price on his head. But Wilders refuses to be silenced — and one result is the book you have in your hands.

For years, from his native Netherlands, Wilders has sounded the alarm about the relentless spread of Islam in the West. And he has paid a steep personal price, enduring countless death threats and being forced into a permanent state of hiding.

Now, for the first time, Wilders offers a full account of his long battle against the zealots who have already slaughtered his countryman Theo van Gogh — whose killer also threatened to murder Wilders himself. In Marked For Death, Wilders reveals:

How the West can defend itself against an existential (sic) enemy determined to conquer the globe

Expelled from Britain, banned from Indonesia, denounced by the UN Secretary General, prosecuted in court for his beliefs, forced into government safe houses, and constantly threatened with death, Geert Wilders is unbowed and unapologetic. Marked For Death is a stark warning about a growing threat to our liberties written by a man who has lost is freedom — and would not see the rest of us suffer the same fate.

A member of the Dutch Parliament since 1998, Geert Wilders is the founder and leader of the Party for Freedom (PVV) in the Netherlands. Since 2004, he has been living under round-the-clock police protection due to death threats from extremist Muslims. In 2008, he attracted international attention when he was taken to court over Fitna, a documentary he filmed that explores Islamic terrorism and the spread of Islam in the Netherlands. Mr. Wilders now travels the world in defense of liberty and freedom of expression.

On the back of the dust jacket, there is an excerpt from the foreword by Mark Steyn:

In the Netherlands, Mr. Wilders' foes, whether murderous jihadists or the multicultural establishment, share the same "strategic objective" — to increase the cost of associating with him beyond that which most people are willing to bear. It is not easy to be Geert Wilders. He has spent almost a decade in a strange, claustrophobic, transient, and tenuous existence little different from kidnap victims or, in his words, a political prisoner. He is under round-the-clock guard because of explicit threats to murder him by Muslim extremists.

Yet he's the one who gets put on trial for incitement.

...For every independent-minded soul... there are a thousand other public figures who get the message: steer clear of Islam unless you want your life consumed — and steer clear of Wilders if you want to be left in peace.

Well, enough of other people's opinions — let's take a look at some of Wilder's own writings:

I have written this book not just to warn against Islam, but to show how Islamization can actually be stopped.... when people overcome their fear, David can defeat Goliath.... All it takes is courage — that has been true throughout history....

All that's happening in the "Arab Spring" is that one set of Islamic tyrants is replacing another. What is needed in Islamic countries is not a change of leadership, but for Muslims themselves to renounce Islam and liberate themselves from the ideology's mental prison....

It is our responsibility as Westerners to oppose the expansion of Islam, but it should be the Muslims' responsibility to outgrow Islam. The fact that Islam forbids Muslims from leaving the fold does not mean Muslims don't have the option to do so.

The American Declaration of Independence states that "all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness." All men — that includes Muslims.... Muslims must free themselves from Islam, because they, too, have an unalienable right to freedom. In liberating themselves from Islam, they will ensure a happier life for themselves and their children, and a safer, more peaceful world for the rest of us.

Muslims must break the asphyxiating rules that Muhammad imposed on their societies. They must liberate themselves from the mental prison that traps them. In short, Muslims must defeat Islam.... If they could liberate themselves from the yoke of Islam, if they would stop taking Muhammad as a role model, and if they got rid of the hateful Koran, they would be able to achieve amazing things.

As I wrote in a dispatch to Muslims in July 2010, "My message... is clear: 'Fatalism is no option; Inch' Allah is a curse; Submission is a disgrace. Free yourselves. It is up to you.'"

To preserve our freedoms from the encroachments of Islam, we must do four things: defend freedom of speech, reject cultural relativism, counter Islamization, and cherish our national identity.... The political elite reject my proposed solutions to Islamization and mass immigration, believing that the problems can be solved largely by accommodating Islam. They can call their policies "tolerance," "coexistence," or some other pleasant-sounding euphemism, but in fact they are all tantamount to surrender....

If we do not oppose Islamization, we will lose everything: our freedom, our identity, our democracy, our rule of law, and all our liberties.... The West is in danger, but we can still prevail. We begin the struggle by standing up for our values and telling the truth about Islam. Even when we are insulted, even when we are harassed and intimidated, even when we are marked for death just for stating an opinion — we must never be silenced.

I will close the article with a penetrating quote from former British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher, which she wrote in her book Statecraft, and which Wilders included in his book:

We know that bin Laden's terrorists had been planning their outrages for years. The propagation of their mad, bad ideology — decency forbids calling it a religion — had been taking place before our eyes. We were just too blind to see it. In short, the world had never ceased to be dangerous. But the West had ceased to be vigilant. Surely that is the most important lesson of this tragedy [the 9/11 attacks], and we must learn it if our civilisation is to survive.

This is definitely a book well worth reading — get a copy for yourself, and then share it with your family and friends!